"Look! look! Nell. That man's got silver. He's got it: I know he has."
As Nelly walked by Mr. Kleesman's house this morning, she saw lying on the ground a queer little round cup. It was about half as big as a small, old-fashioned teacup; it was made of a rough sort of clay, like that which flower-pots are made of; the outside was white, and the inside was all smooth and shining, and of a most beautiful green color.
"Oh, what a pretty little cup!" thought Nelly, picking it up, and looking at it closely. "I wonder how it came here! Somebody must have lost it; some little girl, I guess. How sorry she will be!"
At that minute, old Mr. Kleesman came to his door. When he saw Nelly looking at the cup, he called out to her:—
"Vould you like more as dat? I haf plenty; dey iss goot for little girls."
Mr. Kleesman was a German, and spoke very broken English.
Nelly looked up at him, and said:—
"Thank you, sir. I should like some more very much. They are cunning little cups. I thought somebody had lost this one."
Mr. Kleesman laughed, and stroked his long, white beard with his hand.
"Ach! I throw dem away each day. Little girls come often to mine room for dem: I have vary goot customers in little girls. Come in! come in! you shall have so many that you want." And he led Nelly into a small back room, where, in a corner on the floor, was a great pile of these little cups: some broken ones; some, like the one Nelly had, green on the inside; some brown, some yellow, some dark-red. Nelly was delighted. She knelt down on the floor, and began to look over the pile.